BBC News reports:
Nigerian mobile phone users have been anxiously checking who is calling them before answering them in recent days.
A rumour has spread rapidly in the commercial capital, Lagos, that if one answers calls from certain “killer numbers” then one will die immediately.
It also goes on to talk about the much famed rumour that shaking the hands of certain people would make your genitalia disappear.
Except that the term ‘people’ is the BBC’s own wording and the actual term is “white folks”. This news is not only old but the BBC has whitewashed out the old racist undertones. Now instead of reading about vicious bigotry we can laugh at the funny things people in other countries believe.
If someone in the UK suddenly started refusing to stand next to people of Islamic faith in fear of catching some horrible disease I doubt we’d see a similarly light-hearted tone to the article.
Remember folks - It’s only racism if it’s committed by westerners!
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at July 19, 2004 10:42 PM | TrackBack